Houk van Warmerdam

1888: a luthier, Vedder, has to step aside when his home, opposite the recently completed Central Station in Amsterdam, must yield for the planned Victoria Hotel. His cousin Anijs, pharmacist in the Northern provinces of the Netherlands, has gotten into a fix after illegal medical practices, and is looking for a way out. For himself and his wife Martha, but also for a colony of poor peat cutters whom he promises a future in the United States. Committed - or is it pride? - the two of them think up a scheme from which they all will fully benefit. With tragic consequences.

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Married to an illiterate Dutch farmer, Keet yearns for a child. She sets matters on course by arranging for a smart city girl, Lena, to live in and teach the slow-witted Brand. She encourages the developing affair between them, accepting secondary status in the household when Lena has a child. But her plans to eliminate the competition demand decisive action from Brand.

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